Arizona Cardinals get different look out of joint practice with Kansas City Chiefs

by Kent Somers - Aug. 7, 2012 08:03 PMThe Republic | azcentral.com

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. - There were no brawls, no scuffles, not even one little extra shove on Tuesday afternoon when the Cardinals and Chiefs practiced together at Missouri Western State University, home of the Griffons.

Other than about 180 men sweating buckets in 100-degree temperatures, the whole thing was civilized, which is just how Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt and Chiefs coach Romeo Crennel wanted it.

"I think we pushed it hard enough, but it was good," Whisenhunt said. "There weren't any after-the-play scruffs. Guys knew when to pull off. They practiced like pros."

It was the type of practice the Cardinals were seeking when they approached the Chiefs about coming to St. Joseph, which is about 50 miles north of Kansas City.

The Cardinals played a game in Canton, Ohio, on Sunday and meet the Chiefs in Kansas City on Friday. To Whisenhunt, it didn't make sense to return to training camp in Flagstaff and then travel a few days later.

"I thought it was good intensity and guys worked well together," Whisenhunt said. "We get a chance now to go back and look at tape and evaluate players. We got to see a lot of different players in a lot of situations."

The practice was spread over two fields and included one-on-one work between defensive backs and receivers, sessions of seven-on-seven and periods of red zone and two-minute offense and defense.

"It was good," said the Chiefs' Steve Breaston, a former Cardinals receiver. "You hear a lot about (cornerback) Patrick Peterson, how he works and things like that. It was very good working against him. That's a high talent level right there."

Peterson was equally complimentary.

"It's a huge improvement going against another set of receivers versus going against each other," Peterson said. "It's a different look, different techniques we have to use."

Neither team appeared to leave the field with an advantage. If anything, the two defenses had an edge. The Cardinals' first-team offense, led by quarterback John Skelton, struggled in the red-zone session. And the Cardinals' defense seemed to get the better of the Chiefs' offense.

For Cardinals guard Daryn Colledge, it felt almost like another preseason game.

"It's nice not having to lean on our own guys. It's nice to get a different look. It's nice to have a little bit of variety," Colledge said. "It gives us an opportunity to get better.

"We're both trying to make each other better. We don't have to worry about playing each other this season until the Super Bowl."

The only downside was the heat. "We had a little bit of cloud cover and the breeze picked up for some of us fat guys," Colledge said, "so it wasn't too bad."

Quarterback Kevin Kolb, who suffered a bruised muscle in the rib area and a bruised diaphragm against the Saints, did individual drills but didn't participate in the competitive situations.

Skelton did, and the results were mixed. He struggled to find receivers in the red-zone session but played better in the two-minute drill.

"You've seen all the looks from our defense in practice, so it's good getting out there and not knowing what to expect," he said. "I think up front we did a great job of controlling the line of scrimmage. That was kind of a carry-over from the game, and we made some plays there in the two-minute."